[There is certainly mercy in reserve for them : " their yoke has never been so broken from their neck, but that stran- gers have served themselves of themd," and do still oppress them. A season of happiness awaits them, such as they never experienced in their most prosperous days : " they shall be at rest, and be quiet, and none shall make them afraid:" and this outward peace shall be only a shadow of that inward joy which they shall experience under the protection of their reconciled God and Saviour, who will be " a little sanctuary unto theme."]
2. For his people among all nations —
[However " far off" his people are, God sees and knows themf, and will in due season bring them to himself g. No enemy shall be able to detain them : their bonds shall be broken, and they shall be " brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God." O what sweet peace and composure of mind shall they enjoy, when they are truly brought to the fold of Christ h! What blessed assurance too shall they possess, not only of their present interest in the Saviour, but of final vic- tory and everlasting felicity ! !
Yet is this but the beginning of blessings : the time shall come when the saints of all ages, even from the beginning to the end of time, shall be gathered together, every one of them freed from all remains of sin and sorrow, and raised to the fruition of their heavenly inheritance.
Shall we not then, whilst we contemplate the future des- tinies of God's ancient people, consider also our own ; when, even in this life, such " things are prepared for us as no un- renewed eye hath seen, or ear heard, or heart conceived k;" and, in the world to come, such things as exceed the compre- hension whether of men or angels ?]
Subservient to this great design, God orders every thing for them in love, so,
II. That even his darkest dispensations towards them
are intended for their good —
This was, and still is, the case with respect to the
Jews.
[The sending of that whole nation into captivity in Baby- lon was doubtless a heavy judgment : but yet we are expressly told that God designed it " for their good1." And we doubt not but that the destruction of their whole estate and polity by
d ver. 8. e Ezek. xi. 16, 17. with Jer. xxiii. 6.
f 2 Tim. ii. 19. s John x. 16. h Ps. xxiii. 1, 2.
» Ps. xxiii. 4 — 6. k 1 Cor. ii. 9. ' Jer. xxiv. 5.
1065. J god's gracious designs towards his chosen. 189
the Romans, together with their present dispersion over the face of the whole earth, is intended for their good also. By the Babylonish captivity they were cured of idolatry ; and by the total abolition of the temple worship, all hope of obtaining mercy by the ceremonial rites and ceremonies is cut off, and they are "shut up unto the faith that is now revealed." We trust also that they are preparing to be God's honoured in- struments of evangelizing the world ; seeing that the receiving of them into the Church will be as life from the dead to the Gentile world"1. We see clearly that there is an immense difference put between them and all the nations which once led them captive. The Egyptians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Ro- mans, have ceased to exist as distinct kingdoms ; and have been lost, as it were, among the people who subdued them : but the Jews are in every place a distinct people, and are so kept by God's overruling providence, that he may accomplish more manifestly his gracious purposes towards them. Many indeed, like Pharaoh, have sought their destruction ; but they live as monuments of God's unceasing care and faithfulness.]
And may not we also see the hand of God ordering and overruling every thing for our good ?